Selamat Hari Malaysia!
We held our Malaysia Day celebration last week - here is an excerpt of the Welcome Address by our President Felix Wong.
Fellow Malaysians, Fellow Australians, Friends of AMBC and Guests,
Today is a very special day - we get to celebrate three very important dates in Malaysian history.
The first is Aug 31. As most of you know, this is the date in 1957 when the 9 Malay states and the British settlements of Malacca and Penang gained independence from the British to form the sovereign state of Malaya. This the day that everyone knows as Merdeka Day, “Merdeka” being the Malay word for independence.
The second date is Sep 16. Who knows what happened on this date? Yes, this is the date that marks the birth of the modern state of Malaysia. This occurred six years after Merdeka (in 1963), when Sarawak, Sabah, and Singapore joined Malaya to form Malaysia. This is the day that we know now as Malaysia Day, a day for all Malaysians.
The third date is May 9. Who knows what happened on THIS date? Yes, it was the day of the most recent General Election in Malaysia. Do you know where you were on this date? Well on the night of May 9, my wife Stella and I, were at the Seasons Hotel on St Kilda Rd, together with the Consul General and his wife, and about 200 other like-minded people. We ate nasi lemak and watched the election results unfold throughout the night - at first very anxiously, and then in amazement as we watched the will of the people shine through.
After six decades of a Barisan Nasional government, a Malaysian Tsunami swept a new government into power. Ordinary Malaysians took control and voted overwhelming for a wholesale change. An unlikely coalition of a 92 year-old former prime minister, three political detainees, and five different political parties came together under the Pakatan Harapan flag, and have now been in government for 126 days.
So today, above all else, we celebrate a New Malaysia and its people. A people that have found their voice, and gained their independence from the political class.
We celebrate a fun-loving and food-obsessed people, who would travel all corners of Malaysia AND Melbourne in search of the best laksa or roti canai or char koay teow. Yes, you know whom I’m talking about!
We celebrate a people who in the spirit of Muhibbah, have multiculturalism deep in the veins, and who are so very at home in the great state of Victoria where multiculturalism is well and truly alive.
So with that, I would like to wish you all Selamat Hari Malaysia. Enjoy the company around you, and I trust you will have a very enjoyable evening.
For pictures of the event, have a look at our Gallery
« GO BACK